Method and apparatus for manufacture of spring coils



May 9, 1933. P. KOENIG 1,908,261

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF SPRING COILS Filed July 22, 19315. Sheets-Sheet 1 NVEIVTOR.

- P. KOENIG May 9, 1933.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF SPRING COILS Filed July 22, 19315 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY I & ATTORNEY May 9, 1933. KQENIG 1,908,261

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF SPRING COILS Filed July 22, 19315 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV ENTOR y 1933- P. KOENIG A 1,908,261 A METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF SPRING COILS I Filed July 22, 1931 5Sheets- Sheet 4 I VEN TOR A TTORNEY W Wm M 46 I P. KOENIG May 9, 1933.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF SPRING COILS Filed July 22, 19315 Shgets-S'neet 5 ggooooo a INVENTOR BY% A TTORNE Patented May 9, 1933UNITED STATES PATENT, orrlcs ram. xomtro, or mvma'ron, new nmsmr,assmnon mo ronsrnnn omm'conrom- TION, A CORPORATION OF NINE JERSEY XKE'I'HOD am) arrauirns iron MANUFACTURE or sumo-cons Application ma m22,

My present invention relates to the manufacture of spring coils, and hasparticular reference to sprmg coils of generall flat strip form with thecoils in substantial y the same plane, such as-shown in U. Patent No.906,557.

It has heretofore been diflicult to produce these spring coilsinexpensively, asthe spring coil includes an upper and a lower line ofcoils, the coils in these lines being reversely wound. The principal obect of my invention is therefore to simplify the method of forming thesecoils, and thus permit automatic manufacture thereof.

In following out the novel method it has been found that standard springc 11 machines cannot be ada ted or changed to produce the desiredart1cle,"and it 1 s therefore a, further object of my invention toprovide a new arrangement of machlne elements that will function toproduce the desired rin coil. H

Wit h these and other objects and advantageous features inview, theinvention consists of a novel-method of o eration and a novelarrangement of mac lne elements, more fully disclosed in the detaileddescription followin in con unct1on with the accompanying rawings, andmore specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the novel machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly broken away; 7 I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the machineelements 1n one operatin osition' 4 is i. perspective view of the slideplate; d

Fig. 5 is a plan v1ew, partly broken away, of the machine elements shownin Fig. 3, at a later operating'position;

Figs. 6 and 7 are details of construction 'two of the operatingelements;

Figs. 8 to are views illustratin the detailed construction of the partsma ing up the winding member;

Figs. 16 and 17 are views-of circular form-1 type of Y 1931. semi no.uaaaa'.

ers and their associated rotors for flattening the formed sprin coilsFigs. 18, 19 am? 20 are plan, end, and side views of the spring coils asformed-in the novel machine; I v I Figs. 21 and 22 are side and -lanviews of the partly flattened spring coi and Figs. 23, 24 are plan andside views of the completed sprin coils. 1

It has been ound practical to wind 8. spring. of the desired ty by usinga rotatable winding block having spaced winding pins, the'winding blockbeing intermittently rotated in opposlte directions with each pinalternatelypositioned in the axis of rotation. Each pin therefore actsto wind a coil of the spring material, which is preferably wire, aroundthe other pin, ing oppositely directed. Suitable mechanism is providedfor automatically displacing each formed coil from its winding in, forshifting the displaced coils out of e paths'of the winding pins, forsliding the winding pins so as to position each pin alternately in theaxis of rotation, for centering each in, for rotating the winding blockto wind t e coils,

the successive coils be-.

and for braking the wire as it is fed forwardly, in the propertimedrelation.

Theaoinding mechanism Referring now to Figsfl and 2, the machineincludes a table 20, which as shown is generally rectangular in form,and on which theoperating mechanism is mounted. The

table is preferablyprovided with support legs (not shown) at eachcorner.

A support cylinder 21 is positioned in a a suitable bore in the table,adjacent one corner thereof, and has a flange 22 on which thewindingblock23 seats, this block having a rectangular top grooved toform a slideway for a winding. pin carrier 24, see Fig. 3, and adepending. central tubular portion 25seated in the support'cylinder 21and formed at its end as a gear 26, the part immediately above the "gear26 being threaded, asat27, to receive a lock washer 28 for locking thewinding block to the support cylinder. .The'eentral. bore29 of thewinding block is enlarged at the 7 upper end thereof, to better receivethe formed spring, as hereinafter described.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 15, the winding pin carrier has a body partwith the lower portion 31 bevelled outwardly to slide in the similarlybevelled grooves in the winding block; the upper portion of the carrierhas a central opening or space 32 to permit lateral displacement of theformed coils, as hereinafter described, also two spaced slotted housings33, 34 which receive the winding pin holders, and a central ellipticalbore 35 through which the formed coils descend into the central bore ofthe winding block.

The windin pin holders are shown in Figs. 13 to 15 and include cylinders36 which are closed at their u per ends and cross bars 37 which aresecure to or formed integral with the upper ends andare verticallygrooved to receive the winding pins 38; the winding pins are locked tothe pin holders by means of lock plates 39, 40 secured to the cross barsby lock screws 41 which pass through suitable openings in the crossbars, the cross bars-being recessed to receive the lock plates 40 andthe lock plates 39 having vertical grooves which cooperate with thecross bar grooves to firm- 1y grip the windin pins. The windingholderassembly inclu es a recessed lower foot member 42 and a coil. ring43 which is mounted between the cy 'liinder 36 and the foot member 42,and the two assemblies are slidabl mounted into the bores. 33, 34 andare loc ed in lace by means of a to plate 44 shown in lgS. 8 and 9, thistop ate'being removably secured to the win ing pin carrier by anysuitable means, as by small dowel pins or the like.

To facilitate the reciprocating shift of the winding pin carrier, tworectangular shift bars 45 are mounted on the side of the carrier and areeach provided with suitable rounde recesses 46 at each end thereof toreceive the the shi shiftin mechanism as hereinafter described, barsbeing secured to the winding pin carrier by screws47 or the like. A shimplate of usual type is secured in-one bevelled oove of the winding blockby screws 48, to acilitate assembly and fitting of the parts.

The winding pin cafl'ier shifting mchanism The mechanism for shiftingthe winding pin carrier is illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7, an

includes a cam actuated bent lever 49 pivotally mounted on the tableintermediate its ends, as at 50, the operating end 51 of the lever beingbored to receive the depending one end 57 of the shift pin being slottedto facilitate adjustment, and the other end 58 The winding pi/ncentering mechanism The sliding movement of the winding pin carrierchanges the relative position and relation of the winding pins, andmechanism is therefore provided to center and to support the axiallypositioned pin, and to release this pin from its support preparatory tomovement of the winding pin carrier. This mechanism is shown in Fig. 2,and slidably mounted in a cylindrical bearing sleeve 59 which is securedto the machine table in any desired manner; the mechanism includes abody part 60 which has an upper tubular housing 61 and a lower windingchamber 62. The chamber 62 has a central opening 63 and a side opening.64 through which the wire is fed; a plunger 65 is mounted in thetubular housing and extends, into the central opening 63, and has acentral bore 66 at its lower end to receive the winding pin ashereinafter described, the end of the plunger being cut .awa' adjacentthe side openlng to facilitate eed of the wire. An end plate 67- ismounted on the base of the winding chamber, and has a central openingthrough which the plunger, the winding pin, and the formed coil maypass.

The plunger .65 slidinglyfits within the housing 61, and has an upperenlarged head 68 which slides in an upper bore 69 in the housing, thisupper bore being larger thanthe central bore to provide a spring seatingshoulder 70; a compression coil spring 71 is secured between the head 66and the shoulder 70 to normally force the plunger upwardly. The plunger65 also has a central bore 72 of greater width than the pin receivingbore 66, and is provided with. a camactuated rod ducedend 74 movable.into the bore 66. l The wire feeding nwchanz'sm The mechanism forfeeding the wire is designed to permit pull ofthe wire through the sideopening 64 of the'cente'ring mechanism and above the end plate 67 intothe central opening 63.. This feeding mechanism is shown in Figs. 4, 5and 2, and includes a support 75 of generally T shape having a tubuarvertical sup rt 7 6 and a horizontal rectangular bore 7 in the headportion 7 8. Within this bore is a wire; feed block 79 having a wire waytherethrough, and a recessed section 80 is provided vin the lowerportion 73 which seats in the bore 72 and hasJa ren5 shifting of theblock.

. setting.

which exposes the wire to the action of a brake block 81, loosely fittedin the rccemed section. This brake block is periodically pressedupwardly to bind the exposed wire 7 The coil relea ing mechanism Aftereach coil is formed, it is necessary to release the formed coil from thewinding gin preparatory to shiftiiiilg of the winding look. This.release is e acted by forcing the winding pin assembly down,rthusfreeing the formed coil, and then laterally displac ing the freed coil;this mechanism being 11- lustrated in Figs. 2, 4, 5 and 6. 7

Referring to Figs. 1' and 6, a lever 87 is pivotally mountedintermediate its ends on the machine plate, and has two spaced pressurepins 88, 89 at the operating end adapted to periodically and alternatelyengage the winding pin-assemblies. The two pins are spaced apart tocompensate for the difierent positions of the winding block at coilreleasmg time, one of these positions being shown in Fig. 5, the otherposition being oppositely inclined to the line of the wire but at thesame angle thereto.

Referring now toFig. 3, the downward pressure ,of the pressure pinsforces the pin assemblies down against the tension of the springs 43,thus withdrawing the winding pins from the formed coils. The formedcoils, however, are still positioned above the pins, and must bedisplaced to permit removal of the pressure pins and upward movement ofthe winding pins preparatory to This displacement is obtained by meansof a slide plate 90, which is slidably mounted in a horizontal groove inthe head 78 of the wire feed support 75, and is actuated towards theformed coil by a cam operated lever-91 pivoted to the side of themachine, the slide plate being returned to inoperative position by atension spring 92 secured at its ends to suitable pins or the like inthe head 78 and the slide plate 90. As clearly seen in Fig. 2, the coilengaging edge of the slide plate is bevelled downwardly, to alsoslightly dislace the formed coil, see Fig. 5, downwardy as well aslaterally. The formed spring is thus displaced into theopening 35 andthe interior of the winding head support 25, .the

ht of the spring also assisting in pulling weig the ormed coilsdownward] The power The power mechanismis illustrated in Fig.

the speed of the gear 95.

'1, andcomprises a main power shaft 93, havand fly. shown" Jection, andhas a gear 95 which meshes with Referring now to Fig. 1, the cam shaft97 I has five camsmounted thereon, thecam 98 having two cam elementsspaced 180 degrees apart for periodicallyengaging the end of the windingblock shift lever 49, the cam 99. a

similarly periodically engaging the end of a lever 99a, pivotallyniginted intermediate its ends on the machine" table, which adjustablyengages the head of the winding pin centering rod 73, the cam 100 whichperiodically actuates the lever 87 to depress the winding pins, thecam101 whichperiodically presses ona spring pressed rod 102 and thus moves'the pivoted lever 84, see Fig. 2, to apply the wire brake, and the cam10 3,which transmits power to the'winding block rotat mg gearing. V 1The cam 103 is preferably of the slot type, and oscillates a lever104'which in turn oscillates a shaft 105 mounted in and extendingthrough the table, this shafthaving a segmentalgear 106 keyed thereonwhich meshes with a circular gear 1.07 keyed to a stub shaft 108 mountedin the table; a segmental gear 109 is keyed on this stub shaft, andmeshes,

with the gear 26 formed'on the end of the bearing block support.

The coil mechanism' As the spring coil leaves'the machine, it has theappearance shown in Fig. 18; it is firstpassed through an acute angledformer of'the type shown in Figure 16, whereupon it is bent to the shapeshown in Figures 19 and 20. ,Passing items more through the same former,Figure 16, will bend it to the shape as shown in'Figures 20 and 21'. Itis then flattened in the former shown in Figure 17, whereupon it becomesshaped as shown in Figures 23 and These formers are of the rotatingtype, and include circular rotating upper rolls 110,111, respectively ofthe contour shown, and similarrotating lower rolls 112, 118, shaped tocorrespond, the spring coils bemfisgripped between the up 1' and lowerro and fed forwardly by e pull of the formers. 1 v v i ing pin/byrotatlonof coil s ringmay now be explained:

Re erring to Fig. 2, the spring wire has beendrawn through the wire feedmechanism,'and hasbeen wound around the winding pin which is in the upposition, and is sup orted .in the bore 66 of the centering mec anism;this winding was due to rotation of the winding block, the right handwindinglpin which has a coil thereon revolving around the other windingpin. due to the right hand a position of the winding block.

Now let us assume that the windingcblock has rotated to the positionshownin ig. 5; at this time, the pressure pin lever 87 moves to forcethe left hand winding pin' holder down thus releasin the coil thereonand the slide plate is move laterally to displace this released coil theslide plate and thepressure pin lever are now moved back, as thereleased coil is free from the left-hand winding pm; The lever thenpresses down, moving rod 73 first, and then plunger 65, thus forcing thewinding pin and the formed coil downthrough and below the center openingof the end plate 67 The shift lever 49 now operates to shift the windingpin carrier to the. right, thus-bringing the released winding pinbeneath the centering -mech-anism and moving the winding pin with theformed coil alongthe lower face of the end plate .to the right. Thelever 100 is now moved back, and thereleased winding pin moves up, dueto the pressure of spring 43, to force the end of centering rod 73 up,the plunger moving upwards independently under the influence of thespring 71 for a shorter dis tance to permit the winding pin toseat inthe bore 66.

. The winding block. is now rotated 600 degrees in the oppositedirection,'thus winding the wire on theaxially positioned windthe coilcarrying winding pin aroundit. Just before the winding is completed andthe winding block stops in the position complementary to that shown inFig. 5, the brake is applied to the wire by movement of lever 84 to gripthe wire and hold it firmly, until the coil is completed; the sequenceis then repeated.

, It is therefore clear that the forming machine first winds one coil onone pin, by movement of the second pin' around it,..then removes thecoil from the second pin, shifts thepins, 'and'winds a furthercoil, inthe oppositedirection,.by rotating the. firstpin struction andarrangement 0 around the second pin. 3 The formed coil spring'is thenflattened in the formers to obtam the desired flat shape.

While I'hav'e described specific constructions of a forming machine andforming dies, it is obvious that desired chan es in' the'conthe machineelements,- and in the procedure followed, may .be madewithout departingfrom the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims;

- I claim a 1. In an apparatus of vthe type described, a winding devicehaving spaced winding-ele' ment's, means for feeding -.-;spring'material thereto, andmeans for successively and'inte'rmittentlyrotating'each of said winding-elements'abo'ut the otherto form spacedspring.

-coils..

Iwindingdevice having'space winding elevinents, means -for feedingspring. material thereto, means for successively and. intermittentlyrotating eachof said winding elements about the other to form spacedspring co ls, and means for displacing said spring coils fromthe-winding elements-after such rotation.

3.111 an apparatus of the type described, a rotatable winding devicehaving spaced winding elements, means for feeding spring 5. In, anapparatus of. the typedesc-rihed,

a rotatable winding device having spaced winding elements, means forfeeding spring material thereto,. means ffor alternately positiomngeachwinding. element at the axis of rotat on, and means for rotating.the other w nd ngelernent about the winding element at the ax s 9f.rotation, the successive rota- .tlons being. n opposite directionsandcomprising more than one complete revolution. 6. In an apparatusof thetype described, a. ,rotatable windin mechanism havin 2. In an apparatusof the type described a I spacedwindin'gpins t ereon,means.for fee ingwig-etc said winding. pins,'means for mterm1ttentlys'hifti'ng said vwinding pins to alternately position'each'pin'at the axis of rotation ofsaid winding mechanism, and means for intermittentlyrotatingsaid windmgmechanism. 1. i I

7. In an apparatu *ofthei type" described, a rotatable winding mechanismhaving spacedwinding pins thereom'means for feed ing wire 1, sai'dwinding pins, means for intermittently "shifting qsaid w nding "pinwhammy position fe'ach' pjinat' the axis of rotation of said windingmechanism,"ar id means for intermittently 'r'otatiiig said windsaidopposite directions.

8. In an apparatus of the type described, a

rotatable winding mechanism having spaced winding pins thereon, meansfor feedi'n wire to said winding pins, means for intermittently shiftingsaid winding pins to alternately position each pin at the axis ofrotation of winding mechanism, and means for intermittently rotatingsaid winding mechanism with successive rotations in opposite directions,each rotation comprising more than one complete revolution.

9. In an apparatus of the type described, a rotatable winding blockhaving a winding pin carrier thereon, means for intermittently rotatinsaid block and means for intermittent y reciprocating said carrierbetween said rotation periods.

10. In an apparatus of the type described, a rotatable winding blockhaving a winding pin carrier thereon, means for intermittently rotatinsaid block in o posite directions, and means or intermittent y movingsaid carrier in opposite directions between said rotation periods.

11. In an apparatus of a rotatable winding block, a reciprocatablecarrier on said block, spaced winding pins on said carrier, means forfeeding wire to said pins, means for alternately positionin each pin inthe axis of rotation of saidlock, means for intermittently rotating saidblock successively in opposite directions to coil wire around the axialy positioned in and means for releasing the coiled wire rom the otherpin subsequent to said rotation and prior to positioning of the otherpin in said axial position.

12. In an apparatus of the type described, a rotatable winding block, areciprocatable carrier on saidblock, spaced winding pins on saidcarrier, means or feeding wire to said pins, I each pin in the axis ofrotation of said block, means for securing the axially positioned pin,means for .intermittently rotating said lock vsuccessively coil wirearound the axially 'tioned pin and means for releasing the coiled wirefrom the other pin and for releasing the axially positioned pinsubsequent to said rotation and prior to in said axial position.

-13-. In an apparatus of the the type described,

I type described, a rotatable winding block, a reciprocatable carrier onsaid block, spaced winding pins on said carrier, means for feeding wireto said pins, means for alternately positioning each pin in the axis ofrotation of said block, means for intermittently rotating said blocksuccessively in opposite directions to coil wire around the axiallypositioned means for releasin the coiled wire other pin and for's'plac'ing it laterally suband means for releasin .said center ofrotation in tion to form the next coil.

means for alternately positioning in opposite directions to said coillaterally from said center positioning of the other pin in, and cm thesequent to said rotation and prior to positioning of the other pin'insaid axial position.

14. In an apparatus of the type' described, a rotatable winding block, areciprocatable carrier on said block, spaced winding pins on saidcarrier, means for feeding pins, means for alternately positionin eachpinin the axis of rotation of said lock, means for securing the axiallypositioned pin, means for intermittentlyrotating said wire to said alock successively in opposite directions to coil wire around the axiallypositioned pin the coiled wire from the other pin and for isplacingitlaterally and for releasing the axially ositioned pin subsequent to saidrotation an prior to positioning of the other pin in said axialposition. 4

15. In the manufacture of coil s rings, the method comprising the step0- forming spaced coils in s rln material h each formed coil ab g ylaterally displaced form the next coil.

16. In the manufacture of coil springs, the steps of forming spacedcoils in spring material by winding a coil about a center of rotation,displacing said wound coil laterally from said center of rotation, andwinding the displaced wound coil about said center of rotation to formthe next coil.

17 In the manufacture of coil springs, the ste s of forming spaced coilsin spring materia by winding a coil in one direction about a center ofrotation, dis lacing said wound coil laterally from said center ofrotation,

out a center of rotation winding from its own center to and winding thedisplaced wound coil about the opposite direc- 18. In a coil windingmachine, means for winding s ring material about a center of rotation toorm a coil, and means for winding the said coil about acenter ofrotation laterally displaced from its own center to form the next coil.a 19. In a coil winding machine, means for winding spring material abouta center of rotation to form a coil, means for displacing of rotawindingthe displaced of rotation to form the tion, and means for coil aboutsaid center next coil.

20. In a coil winding machine, means for winding spring material in onedirection about a center of rotation to form a coil,

'means for displacing said coil laterally from said center of rotation,and means for winding the displaced coil about ,said center of rotationin the opposite direction to form the next coil. I y

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

PAUL KOENIG.

